Using Twitter to Support Students' Design Thinking

The goal of the short-term study abroad course “International Perspectives on Biomedical Engineering Design” is to enable students to consider sociotechnical factors in designing clinically translatable solutions. In addition, comparison of healthcare systems in Europe and the United States enables students to see the impact of culture on healthcare because people in these locations have similar medical resources. Students seek to define an actionable problem statement that summarizes the needs and insights identified through interviews with healthcare professionals. Methods recommended for formulating actionable problem statements include creating a Madlib or want ad. However, such approaches did not resonate with our student group. In this presentation, we describe our experiences using Twitter as a method for students to succinctly write actionable problem statements that spur creative problem solving.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Coordinating Summer Undergraduate Research Programs for Expanding Diversity and Impact: Opportunities and Challenges

During summers 2015-2017, we operated a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site, “Biomedical Engineering Community of Undergraduate Research Scholars for Cancer” (BME CUReS Cancer) at The University of Texas at Austin. The directors of the BME CUReS Cancer program have sought to multiply the impact of our Site by embedding students supported by other summer research experience grants, which we refer to here as Affiliated Scholars. In this paper, we will discuss the opportunities and challenges we encountered in coordinating these summer undergraduate research programs. CUReS Scholars were matched with a summer project from among a rich variety of research endeavors within strategic areas identified by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Each Scholar was part of a research team with both faculty and graduate student mentors, a mentoring system that is effective and widely employed. Scholars also benefited from: a research skills boot camp their first week; weekly educational seminars with fellow summer scholars led by the program directors; shared on-campus housing; and social events. Affiliated Scholars were supported by a variety of other funding mechanisms with a variety of research areas. By grouping these scholars into the CUReS structure with a shared scientific theme of engineering approaches to cancer research, regardless of their funding source, we sought to facilitate their identification with a larger, diverse student cohort. Criteria across the programs introduced challenges to establishing a shared community, such as subsets of Affiliated Scholars entering the summer program with existing social relationships. We will discuss specific challenges and opportunities we observed and provide recommendations for blending a primary REU with Affiliated Scholars based on our experiences.Cockrell School of Engineerin

The Talking Points Tool: A Brief Intervention to Support Predoctoral Student and Faculty Advisor Communication

Excellent relationships between predoctoral students and faculty supervisors can lay the foundation for a satisfying degree program and productive future. Contrarily, poor relationships can frustrate both students and supervisors. We examined mentoring experiences focused on career development. Students desired enhanced career mentoring but were uncomfortable approaching their supervisors with these concerns. Faculty advisors reported willingness to support students’ career development, yet expected students to initiate those conversations. Responding to this communication disconnect, we developed a brief intervention to facilitate conversations—a Talking Points Tool (TPT). In this paper, we examine whether the TPT influenced students’ career conversations and development.Cockrell School of Engineerin

Parametric Power Spectral Density Analysis of Noise from Instrumentation in MALDI TOF Mass Spectrometry

Noise in mass spectrometry can interfere with identification of the biochemical substances in the sample. For example, the electric motors and circuits inside the mass spectrometer or in nearby equipment generate random noise that may distort the true shape of mass spectra. This paper presents a stochastic signal processing approach to analyzing noise from electrical noise sources (i.e., noise from instrumentation) in MALDI TOF mass spectrometry. Noise from instrumentation was hypothesized to be a mixture of thermal noise, 1/f noise, and electric or magnetic interference in the instrument. Parametric power spectral density estimation was conducted to derive the power distribution of noise from instrumentation with respect to frequencies. As expected, the experimental results show that noise from instrumentation contains 1/f noise and prominent periodic components in addition to thermal noise. These periodic components imply that the mass spectrometers used in this study may not be completely shielded from the internal or external electrical noise sources. However, according to a simulation study of human plasma mass spectra, noise from instrumentation does not seem to affect mass spectra significantly. In conclusion, analysis of noise from instrumentation using stochastic signal processing here provides an intuitive perspective on how to quantify noise in mass spectrometry through spectral modeling

A Research Agenda for Appearance Changes Due to Breast Cancer Treatment

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent forms of cancer in the US. It is estimated that more than 180,000 American women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2008. Fortunately, the survival rate is relatively high and continually increasing due to improved detection techniques and treatment methods. However, maintaining quality of life is a factor often under emphasized for breast cancer survivors. Breast cancer treatments are invasive and can lead to deformation of the breast. Breast reconstruction is important for restoring the survivor’s appearance. However, more work is needed to develop technologies for quantifying surgical outcomes and understanding women’s perceptions of changes in their appearance. A method for objectively measuring breast anatomy is needed in order to help both the breast cancer survivors and their surgeons take expected changes to the survivor’s appearance into account when considering various treatment options. In the future, augmented reality tools could help surgeons reconstruct a survivor’s breasts to match her preferences as much as possible

Computer-Aided Detection of Breast Cancer – Have All Bases Been Covered?

The use of computer-aided detection (CAD) systems in mammography has been the subject of intense research for many years. These systems have been developed with the aim of helping radiologists to detect signs of breast cancer. However, the effectiveness of CAD systems in practice has sparked recent debate. In this commentary, we argue that computer-aided detection will become an increasingly important tool for radiologists in the early detection of breast cancer, but there are some important issues that need to be given greater focus in designing CAD systems if they are to reach their full potential

3D Symmetry Measure Invariant to Subject Pose During Image Acquisition

In this study we evaluate the influence of subject pose during image acquisition on quantitative analysis of breast morphology. Three (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) images of the torso of 12 female subjects in two different poses; (1) hands-on-hip (HH) and (2) hands-down (HD) were obtained. In order to quantify the effect of pose, we introduce a new measure; the 3D pBRA (Percentage Breast Retraction Assessment) index, and validate its use against the 2D pBRA index. Our data suggests that the 3D pBRA index is linearly correlated with the 2D counterpart for both of the poses, and is independent of the localization of fiducial points within a tolerance limit of 7 mm. The quantitative assessment of 3D asymmetry was found to be invariant of subject pose. This study further corroborates the advantages of 3D stereophotogrammetry over 2D photography. Problems with pose that are inherent in 2D photographs are avoided and fiducial point identification is made easier by being able to panoramically rotate the 3D surface enabling views from any desired angle

Validation of Stereophotogrammetry of the Human Torso

The objective of this study was to determine if measurements of breast morphology computed from three-dimensional (3D) stereophotogrammetry are equivalent to traditional anthropometric measurements obtained directly on a subject using a tape measure. 3D torso images of 23 women ranged in age from 36 to 63 who underwent or were scheduled for breast reconstruction surgery were obtained using a 3dMD torso system (3Q Technologies Inc., Atlanta, GA). Two different types (contoured and line-of-sight distances) of a total of nine distances were computed from 3D images of each participant. Each participant was photographed twice, first without fiducial points marked (referred to as unmarked image) and second with fiducial points marked prior to imaging (referred to as marked image). Stereophotogrammetry was compared to traditional direct anthropometry, in which measurements were taken with a tape measure on participants. Three statistical analyses were used to evaluate the agreement between stereophotogrammetry and direct anthropometry. Seven out of nine distances showed excellent agreement between stereophotogrammetry and direct anthropometry (both marked and unmarked images). In addition, stereophotogrammetry from the unmarked image was equivalent to that of the marked image (both line-of-sight and contoured distances). A lower level of agreement was observed for some measures because of difficulty in localizing more vaguely defined fiducial points, such as lowest visible point of breast mound, and inability of the imaging system in capturing areas obscured by the breast, such as the inframammary fold. Stereophotogrammetry from 3D images obtained from the 3dMD torso system is effective for quantifying breast morphology. Tools for surgical planning and evaluation based on stereophotogrammetry have the potential to improve breast surgery outcomes